2024-2025 Around the NBA Thread

[leclerc]

To be fair, KD carries quite a bit too.

I will watch him closely in the next game ;-)

 

[AzStevenCal]

To be fair, KD carries quite a bit too.

Yeah, he does. He doesn't carry and then crash into defenders on his way to the rim though like GA and a few others do.

 

[Hoop Head]

Yeah, he does. He doesn't carry and then crash into defenders on his way to the rim though like GA and a few others do.

Because he's really good at stumbling after contact to draw the foul. It's different than what Giannis or LeBron do. It's like a cross between LeBron and Harden. Durant does it a lot where he'll run towards the FT line though and once met with physicality he'll elevate to shoot a weird fadeaway almost where he lands on his backside to get the And-1 or just FT attempts. Its unique and I'm surprised Booker hasn't copied it.

 

[Ronin]

Evan Sidery

@esidery
·
3h


The Bulls are open to taking back Michael Porter Jr. in a trade with the Nuggets for Zach LaVine.Chicago views the 26-year-old wing as an ideal piece on their rebuilding timeline.Porter is under contract through 2026-27, but only $12 million is guaranteed in the final year.

 

[Hoop Head]

Evan Sidery
@esidery
·
3h


The Bulls are open to taking back Michael Porter Jr. in a trade with the Nuggets for Zach LaVine.Chicago views the 26-year-old wing as an ideal piece on their rebuilding timeline.Porter is under contract through 2026-27, but only $12 million is guaranteed in the final year.

So Denver would be throwing in the towel on competing?

MPJ isn't great but he's a better fit than Lavine. They were foolish when they let Bruce Brown walk and doubled down on stupidity when they let KCP go last off-season. A MPJ for Lavine swap would officially drop them out of legit contender status to around where the Suns hover as needing a very favorable path with some lucky breaks.

 

[GatorAZ]

Warriors lost by 50!

 

[Mainstreet]

Warriors lost by 50!

I've been thinking the Suns should pattern their style of play similar to the Warriors small ball approach since they do not have much size either.

I guess it needs some work.

It will take them awhile to figure it out with the addition of Schroder, but I think they will.

 

[95pro]

I've been thinking the Suns should pattern their style of play similar to the Warriors small ball approach since they do not have much size either.

I guess it needs some work.

It will take them awhile to figure it out with the addition of Schroder, but I think they will.

Hard to do without a guy like green. Despite his age and antics he’s still valuable for them.

 

[Mainstreet]

Hard to do without a guy like green. Despite his age and antics he’s still valuable for them.

I give more credit to Stephen Curry but yes, the Warriors need what Green brings to the table. Also, the Warriors are an incredibly a well coached team

 

[Phrazbit]

I give more credit to Stephen Curry but yes, the Warriors need what Green brings to the table. Also, the Warriors are an incredibly a well coached team

Curry is the evolution of Nash... or like... Nash mixed with Reggie Miller. We don't have anything like him, no one does or ever has.

I also agree though, that we don't need THAT guy so much as we need an interior presence that is, ideally, a defensive force and can compliment our stars on offense. Green does both for Golden State, no one on our team even scratches the surface of either role.

Our front court situation is our biggest weakness, even worse than the injuries. We are getting nothing on offense there and less than nothing on defense, it's like we're 4 on 5 on that end. The offense forces one rotation and we're toast, either that or we just don't get back in transition.

 

[Mainstreet]

Curry is the evolution of Nash... or like... Nash mixed with Reggie Miller. We don't have anything like him, no one does or ever has.

I also agree though, that we don't need THAT guy so much as we need an interior presence that is, ideally, a defensive force and can compliment our stars on offense. Green does both for Golden State, no one on our team even scratches the surface of either role.

Our front court situation is our biggest weakness, even worse than the injuries. We are getting nothing on offense there and less than nothing on defense, it's like we're 4 on 5 on that end. The offense forces one rotation and we're toast, either that or we just don't get back in transition.

I couldn't agree more about the Suns front court being their primary weakness. Too bad they don't have a fix on their roster.

As you note, Steve Nash and Stephen Curry type players don't come around very often.

 

[Yuma]

I've been thinking the Suns should pattern their style of play similar to the Warriors small ball approach since they do not have much size either.

I guess it needs some work.

It will take them awhile to figure it out with the addition of Schroder, but I think they will.

We turn over the ball over way too much. I was glad KD mentioned that after this last game.

 

[Mainstreet]

We tyron the ball over way too much. I was glad KD mentioned that after this last game.

Durant is one of the biggest culprits in regard to turning the ball over. I'm glad he acknowledged it.

 

[Yuma]

Durant is one of the biggest culprits in regard to turning the ball over, so I'm glad he acknowledged it.

The whole team is bad. Last game even the PGs turned it over (although not bad). We will never be a great defensive team. We didn't draft, or acquire guys for that. Our forte should be offense. we need to maximize that. Turn overs are the worst metric for a team that needs to lean on offense to beat teams. I was REALLY hoping Bud and two low turn over PGs would have solved this issue. We need to run the offense differently so that Durant, Nurkic, and Booker only get that ball in position to shoot. The bring the ball up, and then toss it to any of these three to initiate the offense has proven it is not optimal. Why is it just us fans seemingly only see this?

 

[Mainstreet]

The whole team is bad. Last game even the PGs turned it over (although not bad). We will never be a great defensive team. We didn't draft, or acquire guys for that. Our forte should be offense. we need to maximize that. Turn overs are the worst metric for a team that needs to lean on offense to beat teams. I was REALLY hoping Bud and two low turn over PGs would have solved this issue. We need to run the offense differently so that Durant, Nurkic, and Booker only get that ball in position to shoot. The bring the ball up, and then toss it to any of these three to initiate the offense has proven it is not optimal. Why is it just us fans seemingly only see this?

If the Suns can't make stops and give opponents wide open looks, it doesn't matter much how good they are on offense.

 

[Yuma]

If the Suns can't make stops and give opponents wide open looks, it doesn't matter much how good they are on offense.

I have sen games and series where teams just score so prolifically the other teams just can't keep up. We don't have to be a great defense, and we won't be. We need to optimize the offense, and be good enough to get just a certain number of stops or turn overs per game to win.

I watch this offense, and we struggle during the games to score during stretches. Sometimes it's just we go cold for long stretches, and the other team is not having to take it out of bounds and they use their athleticism to run it down court and score. Making a team take it out after you score is a form of defense. That kind of defense is about the best this team could do. Being way more efficient on offense would help hide the defense. Heck, not giving the other team twenty extra shots a game off our turn overs, which gives us twenty less shots, too, would be a great start. Not letting another team get tons of offensive rebounds would be a way to play better defense, too.

Will we still have guys beat us into the lane. Probably. It's not like our guys are lock down defenders. I'm just saying let's play the game to our (supposed) strengths.

 

[Mainstreet]

I have sen games and series where teams just score so prolifically the other teams just can't keep up. We don't have to be a great defense, and we won't be. We need to optimize the offense, and be good enough to get just a certain number of stops or turn overs per game to win.

I watch this offense, and we struggle during the games to score during stretches. Sometimes it's just we go cold for long stretches, and the other team is not having to take it out of bounds and they use their athleticism to run it down court and score. Making a team take it out after you score is a form of defense. That kind of defense is about the best this team could do. Being way more efficient on offense would help hide the defense. Heck, not giving the other team twenty extra shots a game off our turn overs, which gives us twenty less shots, too, would be a great start. Not letting another team get tons of offensive rebounds would be a way to play better defense, too.

Will we still have guys beat us into the lane. Probably. It's not like our guys are lock down defenders. I'm just saying let's play the game to our (supposed) strengths.

Too often, the Suns are comfortable exchanging baskets with opponents. Then, when they hit a cold stretch, wham, they get run over by a truck.

One of the reasons, opponents can freely score inside at will and there is no one there to stop them. This makes for easy and consistent scoring opportunities.

The Suns encounter a similar problem on offense. They do not have anyone that can get them easy baskets inside either when their outside shots are not falling.

 

[hcsilla]

They do not have anyone that can get them easy baskets inside either when their outside shots are not falling.

They rarely earn easy baskets anyway due to lack of (some) effort in defense and overall athleticism.

 

[GatorAZ]

Durant is one of the biggest culprits in regard to turning the ball over. I'm glad he acknowledged it.

It’s like his brain cells are compromised before certain games.

 

[Yuma]

Too often, the Suns are comfortable exchanging baskets with opponents. Then, when they hit a cold stretch, wham, they get run over by a truck.

One of the reasons, opponents can freely score inside at will and there is no one there to stop them. This makes for easy and consistent scoring opportunities.

The Suns encounter a similar problem on offense. They do not have anyone that can get them easy baskets inside either when their outside shots are not falling.

I just don't see a solution for this on our roster right now. While we do have the scorers and shooters to optimize the offense. We have to work with what we have unfortunately.

 

[Yuma]

It’s like his brain cells are compromised before certain games.

He's older and not bending his knees when he dribbles like he used to. The ball is taking too long to go that distance from floor to hand and his handle rhythm is off. His younger self had better handles.

 

[Mainstreet]

I just don't see a solution for this on our roster right now. While we do have the scorers and shooters to optimize the offense. We have to work with what we have unfortunately.

I agree, the Suns do not have a defensive answer on their roster right now.

However, if they want to go anywhere, they better find one.

 

[95pro]

It’s like his brain cells are compromised before certain games.

That weed

 

[Russ Smith]

Warriors lost by 50!

I said before the season it wouldn't stun me if Curry retired. This week he told a reporter who asked if he thinks about it, I think about it every day.

in the first quarter of this game you could see the warriors weren't ready to play, Memphis was face guarding Steph with Jaylen Wells, he'd cross halfcourt and Wells would just guard him. So they stuck Curry basically at halfcourt the first several times and I think it pissed Steph off, he didn't want to just be the decoy.

Took awhile with injuries and all the Ja Morant stuff but Memphis is finally where I thought they would be, elite defensive team and their drives and kicks in this game were really impressive. I gave up at halftime.

Santi Aldama might be the most improved player in the league

 

[Hoop Head]

Butler rolled his ankle last night. No wonder Flex started in saying something will happen. Suns and injured players are like peanut butter and jelly.

He left the game due to his ankle but was ruled out and it was said he was ill. Seems strange to sort of change it up. He definitely tweaked his ankle. Perhaps he's just sick of being in Miami.

Heat's Butler hurts ankle then exits with illness

Jimmy Butler appeared to turn his left ankle and then left Miami's game against Oklahoma City in the first quarter with what the team later said was an illness.

www.espn.com